Intro

Stress is defined as a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc. People handle their stress in many different ways, just like everyone’s reason for being stressed differs. Stress can occur in people of all ages. Increasingly, students at younger and younger ages are subjected to standardized testing – as a side effect, these tests create enormous amounts of stress on these developing brains. How can we help students cope with this test-induced stress and related source of stress, such as GPA, college and career pressures? One way that students have tried to cope with it is by writing about their feelings, like journaling, before a big test. Research has proved that this has helped them in many different ways.

Body 1

Many students feel the need to perform overly well in their academics, and when they do not achieve this goal they may feel down or not good about themselves. I, personally, have dealt with someone like this. She had always gotten straight A’s until one day we had a very difficult test and none of the class got an A. My friend was beyond upset at herself. This one bad grade lead to many hours of studying, not sleeping, and stress. When high school and college aged people have this amount of stress on their shoulders constantly it is not good for their mental health, overall. The CDC states that, “The number of adolescents reporting poor mental health is increasing” (CDC 1). Mental health problems are not something that students should have to deal with either. This can put added stress on them because they may not know how to react to their problems or how to cope with them. All of this can lead to being depressed, becoming less interested in things like school or school related activities, and beginning to do poorly on their assignments and tests. Journaling, or simply just writing your thoughts and ideas down, can be very helpful for the majority of students. Before a big test, it could be beneficial to journal about how you are feeling, what you expect on the test, or even just free write to get your mind off of it. Test anxiety is real and should not just be brushed away. Two groups were initially studied. One group was taking a math test, while the other group was taking a math test. The group taking the math test was expected to be under more stress, but allowing the students to write about their thoughts beforehand would be very beneficial for them and hopefully their grade. The students that were journaling before the test probably feel a lot better afterwards compared to the students who did not journal. I know that I, personally, have experienced test anxiety multiple times. One of my biggest things is feeling rushed once people start to finish their tests before me. This causes me to just hurry myself and not think about the question as well as I know I could.

Body 2

Like mentioned earlier, students were allowed to write about their feelings before the test, or any topic of their choice. Which one is the better option? It was found that, “Writing, regardless of content, distracts students’ attention from the situation and thus benefits performance” (Ramirez 4). Those that chose to write before a test showed signs of much lower test anxiety than others who did not write beforehand. Personally, I think this is very important when it comes to testing because test anxiety is something that a lot of people do not even think about. Many may not even realize it’s a thing. Students with high test anxiety weren't doing the best they are capable of on big exams like midterms and finals. The research showed that the two groups that were studied had significantly different outcomes. “We demonstrate that a short expressive writing intervention reduces performance deficits commonly associated with high-pressure testing situations. The benefits of expressive writing are especially apparent for students who are habitually anxious about taking tests. Expressive writing eliminates the relation commonly seen between test anxiety and poor test performance (Ramirez 5).

Conclusion

In conclusion, test anxiety is a real thing. Because of this, students are not performing to the best of their abilities. With this research, I hope that we all took something from it; journal before a big test. Journaling is a good thing to do in general, but especially in this case. It is an easy way to reduce stress levels and boost performance in the classroom. Honestly, what is there to lose? Not only will it help boost your grades but it could also help with mental health. Writing about how we feel can be a good thing, especially if you feel like you have no one to talk to. Writing comes into play as beneficial because you're still getting things off your chest without having to talk to anyone at all. It’s just you, the pen, and paper.